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Monday, February 3, 2014

January 2014 Her Fashion Box Review!

Hi lovelies,

I'll be honest, my January Her Fashion Box arrived almost a week ago, but it took me a while to blog about it because it left me feeling...well, a bit underwhelmed. I truly loved the first few boxes I got, but the December box left me feeling a bit uninspired and this box did not help matters any. Before I continue, let's take a look at the contents of the January HFB. I received:

Well, one of the reasons I found it a bit disappointing is the number of 'health' samples in this box. I know Her Fashion Box has recently launched Her Fitness Box (a health and fitness offshoot subscription box), and it makes sense that they'd like to promote it, but we received a different kind of 'green smoothie' in last month's box, and two in a row is just overkill for me. I might give the muesli a go, but it's a flavour I don't much like, so I might just end up giving it away. The notebook is also another odd addition; while I think it's cute and may come in handy, it doesn't quite fit in with my concept of a fashion and beauty box. I definitely won't be using the J Bronze face tan sample, but would be willing to give the illuminiser a try.

The necklace wasn't to my personal taste (but hey, that's what I subscribe to boxes like this for); what I found displeasing is that it looks to be of rather poor quality and appears a little, well, tacky and cheap. I don't mind trying it out with some different outfits but I will say it doesn't appear as good in quality as the necklaces in the Trendy and Feminine boxes. Also, given that last month's necklace arrived broken, it's not giving me much confidence in any of the Her Fashion Box necklaces.

I was also a bit disappointed in the quality of the manicure set we received. The case doesn't close properly, there were blue smudges on the inner lining (as you can see on the photo below, leading me to believe the inferior quality paint had rubbed off from the tools) and the tweezers do not 'grip' or close properly.

All is not lost, though. The coin purse is cute, so I can see myself using it to store spare coins in my car. I also loved the scarf (as well as the one in the feminine box) so it was one of the two items that redeemed the box for me. I do love Ulta 3 lipsticks, but it wasn't as exciting to see this in the box as we'd received one as part of a previous box. I do know that it was put in as a gift for completing the previous survey, so I suppose we can forgive HFB for that. I adore Urban Rituelle lip balms, so I was happy to see this in the box, particularly as Guava is a flavour I haven't tried before. The salt scrub sounds interesting so it's another product I don't mind trying.

In short, I was happy to receive the lovely, soft scarf, the Urban Rituelle lip balm and the Ulta 3 lipstick, but those were the only items in this box that I was truly excited to see. I'm a little concerned about the quality of the accessories we've been receiving in the boxes of late, and I'm also a bit disappointed with the addition of multiple products which cannot be classified as fashion or beauty (without going off on a whole other tangent about inner beauty). I also haven't heard back conclusively from HFB about my faulty necklace from the December box, but I will definitely report back when I do.

26 comments:

I don't subscribe to any of the boxes around at the moment, and they don't really look all that good to be honest. Seems a lot of subscribers aren't impressed most of the time. The one product that appeals to me in this box is the Urban Rituelle Lip Balm in Guava. You can never have too much lip balms! :)

Great review :). I quite liked my box but I did get 'feminine' and the necklace was quite different. It seems quite sturdy with the rope material and chunky pendant attached. I do like the look of yours but I can't tell the quality from just the photo. Also I received a totally different manicure set. Mine has a zip and the set is not painted at all. I wonder if the quality is different too. I haven't really checked whether the tweezers or clippers work, I'll try those out next. The scarf is my favourite item and it goes really well with the necklace. They could both be worn to the beach together but I've worn the necklace out recently with a summery outfit. I was a little disappointed to see more smoothie samples as I like to see something new and different in every box. Also the ultra lipstick was something I'd received before and the colours I got both times I would never wear. But I agree with you that it's a freebie so I don't mind too much. I also really like the lip balm. The note book was a little uninteresting...I don't know when I'll use it and the muesli sample is an okay addition but would fit a health subscription box a lot more. The samples of tan products and salt scrub are good additions for the beauty side of things. I did want to try these tanning products. I'm not a big fan of small sample sachets though. I tend to let them pile up and they don't get used often. I would prefer a full sized product or deluxe sample instead of all the tiny little samples we got. The little purse is very cute, I wonder how I'll use it.

I've been concerned about the quality of jewelry and accessories in some of the boxes for some time. You always read that there was quite a few which arrived broken or broke with first use. I'm not subbed to any of these type of boxes for this reason, though the scarf is super cute and I love the little purse! :)

I LOVE the scarf, wore it out the other night and it kept me cosy. :) Went perfectly with my blue maxi dress!

The accessories are a good point...truthfully most have been pretty good, it's just the last couple of necklaces that I've had a problem with!

Agree with you, the whole point is to try jewellery you'd never buy otherwise...it's a bit pointless if you get stuff that falls apart so easily, you'd just as soon drop the subscription and go buy your own.

I used to be subscribed to many boxes but only have this one now. I mainly like the surprise each month, it's like receiving a gift. I really miss the american lip factory box and wantable box but our dollar is not very good at the moment.

I read a lot of blog posts about these boxes and watch a lot of vlogs where the recipients are opening them and I just feel like the Australian ones are so damn crap compared to some of the American ones. There are things in this box I would use but if I'd paid for it and opened it up to see that stuff I would likely be disappointed, I just feel like a lot of things going in to these boxes are cheap and not even close to being worth what you pay for it, also seeing similar products month after month is just plain crappy. I don't think you're being harsh, I think you're being realistic, also it's constructive criticism that helps these companies grow

I do think it's a bit unfair to compare the Aussie boxes to the US ones, as cosmetics are so much more exxy over here. So I can understand how the Aussie boxes might struggle to introduce high quality products every single month. Having said that, I'd rather receive a couple of good items rather than a bunch of mediocre ones.

HFB have responded saying that they are going to be bringing out bigger and better goodies, so it looks like we'll just have to stay tuned (and hope the quality of the accessories improve)!

I feel the same way, it was honestly a bit "meh". Having said that, I think HFB is by far the best beauty box on the market, they are far more consistent and showcase some of the better brands. I also find that I'm not getting the same brands again and again *cough* Avene *cough*. What I don't like us the tacky jewellery, the necklace in the January Feminine box looks like a 2 year old made it at daycare, yours looks much nicer! I still love HFB and at the moment it's the only beauty box I am subscribed to so I think I will ride it out and hope they lift their game.

I really enjoyed your review and I think your opinion on the box was justified, it definitely wasn't a stand out. The pattern on your scarf was much nicer though and I wish I'd gotten the lip balm in Guava!

I think HFB had a hard time when they first started, but they've improved a lot since. I've just been struggling a bit with the products included in the last couple of boxes. :/

I think the beads on a plastic background look a bit tacky, but we are all different, with different tastes. Case in point, while I love my scarf, I was lusting after the one you got in the Feminine box! Tempted to buy it, actually!

I think Violet Box are doing a great job from the beauty perspective. While I used to love Lust Have It, it's been a bit so-so of late...I still haven't received my FaB box so that will be a good one to compare against this one.

I like the box (especially the scarf!!!!). I'm not sure if it's worth the price tag but I much more prefer what HFB has to offer than the Lust Have It FAB box. I'm so glad that I didn't sign up to any more than the original box. I've though each one has been really disappointing. The fashion accessories haven't been anything that I would wear/buy myself but have found that I've like the HFB accessories much more (like the scarfs..... yep I'm scarf obsessed).

I have to admit I was not as excited for this one in comparison to the other boxes... I was a bit disappointed by their "health" products as well.. if I wanted health products, I'd sign up for the fitness box! But I want beauty D:xx

Thanks for the support! I joined for the same reasons you did. Let's hope that they lift their game a bit and stop including health items in their beauty/fashion boxes. Nothing wrong with them, they just don't 'quite' fit in with the theme. :)

My thoughts exactly! I love the concept, just would love higher quality. I just got an invite to from a friend about a new fashion box called the Style box. Reviews look good on it, I want their Rockstar box! But its currently invite only. Do you think I can get that box still?https://www.socialbliss.com/style-box

I didn't like the Ulta 3 lipstick the first time around... I like my lipstick to be heavily pigmented. I probably could've lived without the manicure kit, but thought the idea was cute.

You're right about the muesli and green smoothie sachets being more appropriate for the fitness box... its not what I subscribed for. The reason I joined up was for beauty products for face and body, cosmetics and accessories that I mightn't have tried otherwise.

The Babe scrub was my favourite item in the box... I had the coffee one and it literally made my skin glow! Actually, I would happily forgo the lipstick, smoothie sachets, manicure kit, notebook and muesli for a bigger scrub. The necklace (feminine) was awesome too, but admittedly I cut off the rope it was on and used a chain instead.

My bestie got my tan/illuminiser sachets because she's more likely to use them.

I'm going to see out a full 12 months (which is only 2 more boxes) then I'll cancel the subscription.

The Made Up Maiden is a Melbourne based beauty blog written by Nalini, a young professional with a great love for all beauty products (but is especially fixated on makeup, nail polish and fragrances).
Working in a male dominated industry by day, she moonlights as a beauty blogger by night, and is always on the lookout for new products to fall in love with! She loves exercising her creative side by showcasing various makeup and nail art looks on the blog.